Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola takes about 6.5 minutes to read aloud (705 words, about 2 sentences a page), and it lands best with children aged 4-6.
Measured read-aloud timeabout 6.5 minutes
- Words
- 705
- Sentences a page
- 2
- Re-read tolerance
- 3/5holds up
- Vocabulary
- 3/5a few new words
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The useful verdict
Why Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs works
Tommy's great-grandmother is tied into her chair upstairs and his grandmother works downstairs, and he loves visiting both; when the older one dies he is told plainly that she will not be back. Very few picture books show the relationship at that length before they show the loss, which is what makes the loss mean anything.
Before you buy it
Autobiographical and quietly paced, with two deaths in one short book. Children who want a plot will not stay with it.
Themes: death, grandmothers, memory, family.
Same shape, new story
Books like Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
Matched by length, refrain, sentence density, and listener—not just subject.
Badger's Parting Giftsabout 8 minutes · 3/5 re-read
The Tenth Good Thing About Barneyabout 7.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
Ida, Alwaysabout 7.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Childrenabout 4.5 minutes · 2/5 re-read
Mr. Putter & Tabby Pour the Teaabout 5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Straight answers
Questions parents ask about Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
- How long does it take to read Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs aloud?
- About 6.5 minutes at an unhurried pace, from a word count of 705. Reading it fast shaves perhaps a third off; stopping for questions on every page can double it.
- What age is Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs actually for?
- Ages 4-6 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 2 sentences a page and vocabulary at 3 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
- Does Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs survive being read on repeat?
- Yes, reasonably. It stays bearable through the repeat-request phase without becoming a favourite forever.